Friday

If the Browns' hyped defensive line wants to make a splashy debut, the Tennessee Titans could present a prime opportunity in the season opener Sunday at FirstEnergy Stadium.

That isn’t because the Titans' offensive line is particularly bad. Pro Football Focus ranked Tennessee as one of the 10 best lines in the NFL last year. Their particular problem comes from losing a key link — likely the most important one — in their chain.

Left tackle Taylor Lewan, a three-time Pro Bowler, will serve a four-game suspension for testing positive for performance-enhancing drugs, leaving 6-foot-8, 321-pound Dennis Kelly to fill his shoes. Kelly, an eight-year veteran, played 367 snaps at right tackle in 2018 and two at left tackle, according to Pro Football Focus, setting up what could be daunting task in trying to keep Browns defensive end Myles Garrett, who tallied 13.5 sacks last season, out of the Titans' backfield.

The Browns aren’t taking anything as a given, however.

“This guy is still on an NFL football team so he can play, and we are not taking him for granted or lightly or anything like that,” Browns coach Freddie Kitchens said this week of Kelly. “He is a left tackle in the National Football League, so that is the only thing we know and the only thing we care about.”

It’s not as if the Titans haven’t been able to plan for life with Lewan. The NFL handed down its suspension in July and denied his appeal Aug. 23.

All of those circumstances are moot to Garrett, who said he’s not going to lower his intensity or effort because of Lewan’s absence.

“It’s still a group that has some veteran guys,” he said Friday after practice. “You still can’t sleep on them because they’re not Taylor or first string. They have some guys with experience who know the grind. And they’re physical and they’re going to try to get after you, make room for [running back Derrick] Henry to make that one cut and get up the field and throw that stiff arm at everybody.”

Browns defensive tackle Sheldon Richardson shares Garrett’s attitude.

“It does not matter who you stick out there,” the 6-3 and 294-pounder said. “They are all going to be fierce to us. That is how you look at it. Even if you are paid $1 million or practice squad money, it does not matter.”

Of course the Titans have prepared to deal with Garrett’s speed and bend at the edge.

“You’re forcing a [pass rusher] that’s used to rolling off the football to stop and start his momentum back up again or protect himself in some instances," Titans coach Mike Vrabel said this week. “Those are different ways that we see guys chipping us or us chipping them. Everybody does it. Sometimes you use a receiver, a running back or a tight end.”

Other factors are likely to come into play Sunday, however. The Titans could have another hole to plug on the offensive line at right guard as starter Kevin Pamphile, who didn’t practice Thursday or Friday, is listed as questionable. There’s some doubt as to who will get the nod in his place — Jamil Douglas or rookie Nate Davis, whom the Titans drafted in the third round this past spring.

But the Browns and defensive coordinator Steve Wilks still have an ace to play. Defensive end Olivier Vernon, who moved to the left side of the line after arriving from the New York Giants in a March trade, could certainly benefit from the increased focus on Garrett, as could all the other starting defensive linemen.

“We feel like we are talented across the board and they are going to try to come in, particularly being depleted a little bit at the left tackle, try and protect a little bit more and give the quarterback time to get the ball down the field,” Wilks said Thursday.

That certainly may be true, but Vernon’s prior experience on the right side of the line could serve as a way to throw a little mayhem into the Titans’ plans. Vernon (6-2, 262 pounds) has recorded 51 sacks at the position in his seven NFL seasons.

“We just have to adjust to see what they do,” Vernon said. “We won't really know until game day, but whatever happens we'll just adjust to it, and whoever's got the one-on-one just has to finish when they rush.”

Regardless, Garrett said he will be prepared to face what has been the norm for him since his arrival in the NFL as the No. 1 overall draft pick in 2017.

“I think I was going to get some chips and some double teams regardless if [Lewan] was out there or not,” said Garrett, who has said he wants to be the league’s defensive player of the year. “I think I'll be prepared because they do it every day here.”

George M. Thomas can be reached at gmthomas@thebeaconjournal.com. Read the Browns blog at www.ohio.com/browns. Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/ByGeorgeThomas.

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